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Putting view issues

• Perzy01 2 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 3:50 AM

  dear sirs, i’ve been golfing for40 years now, and have yet to see amateur or pro line up their putts diagonally, or from the side. Putts are lined up from the ball to the hole (a straight line.) Please TRY to straighten out this odd putting habit and for God sake, tighten up the putting grid so we can see how the ball will REALLY roll!

• dchallenger 545 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 12:12 PM

  ..golfing for 40 years?!?!?  Wow. You must be good. But WGT is not the 'golf' to which you refer. It is a fair facsimile thereof.  While WGT looks alot like your golf and the matches and rounds are played with virtually identical rules and all the terminology is nearly the same as your golf, it is not your golf.  It is a computer game designed to mimic your golf AND does a fine damn job of it.  This game has it's own set of parameters to which you must adhere and, with all those years experience playing real golf, surely you've learned a little on adapting to, and overcoming challenges, no?

  Of course, that's all purely speculation.  I could be wrong. 

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 1:02 PM

  Perzy01:

  Please TRY to straighten out this odd putting habit and for God sake, tighten up the putting grid so we can see how the ball will REALLY roll!

  Look past the sarcastic puss that mocked you for your post, Perzy, there's somewhat of an explanation. Your view of the putt depends on what pictures are available for the spot you're at. There are only so many pictures to use and if one doesn't match up exactly with your view, you get the closest. I find that reverse views are pretty close and when you compare them to forward views, it helps.

  You can actually scroll through the available pictures by using the L/R arrows next to the camera. Many times you'll find a decent view you can use, just don't expect perfect looks. There's also a putt preview feature in practice rounds that may help you, too. It lets you see the putting line before you putt.

  As far as more dots, I agree with you but it was explained a long time ago why there aren't and IIRC, it had something to do with causing meter problems. Not sure I remember that correctly but I do remember WGT's explanation making sense at the time.

• Robert1893 7,719 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 1:30 PM

  Perzy01:

  dear sirs, i’ve been golfing for40 years now, and have yet to see amateur or pro line up their putts diagonally, or from the side. Putts are lined up from the ball to the hole (a straight line.) Please TRY to straighten out this odd putting habit and for God sake, tighten up the putting grid so we can see how the ball will REALLY roll!

  I think Jim has effectively addressed your points. The only thing I would add is that you do realize that your golfing experience is really quite irrelevant.
  
  The reason is that the issues you identify have a lot more to do with the limitations of the technology and information available to WGT. The issues are unlikely due to their lack of knowledge regarding how golf is played. I suspect many of them are avid golfers themselves.
  
  In other words, in transferring real-life images  into an online or mobile venue, there will be things that don't exactly transfer well and there will be information gaps. Ideally, they would not exist; in reality, they always exist. Now, if you have 40 years experience in computer programming, with a specialty in gaming software, that would be relevant! :-) 
  
  Some of the breaks you just have to learn. No doubt that it still happens to me where the ball breaks in an unexpected way, and I do my best Vince Lombardi: What the hell is going on out there!
  
  You just have to either take notes or try to remember it for the next time you're in that position on the green. 

• xlviii 502 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 2:12 PM

  Most courses other than Kiawah seem to provide pretty good views. I definitely recommend Jim's advice to use the reverse view. It's the view I use the overwhelming majority of the time for reading putts.

• Robert1893 7,719 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 2:31 PM

  xlviii:

  Most courses other than Kiawah seem to provide pretty good views. I definitely recommend Jim's advice to use the reverse view. It's the view I use the overwhelming majority of the time for reading putts.

  +1

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 4:16 PM

  Robert1893:

  The only thing I would add is that you do realize that your golfing experience is really quite irrelevant.

  I heartily disagree here, Kind Sir. The absolute best way to get the most out of this game is to play it like you would IRL if you could. Thinking, planning, executing. If you take the time to learn what you're playing you can play on instincts and smarts and be quite successful.

  That's where the distinction between gamers and golfers plays, IMO.  You can take the chart/program/notes route or you can enter a pretend world where you get to think like a real golfer and make like you're really out there. That's the escape for me.  :-)

• Robert1893 7,719 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 4:21 PM

  YankeeJim:

  I heartily disagree here, Kind Sir. The absolute best way to get the most out of this game is to play it like you would IRL if you could.

  
  
  Jim, my point was that his years of experience was irrelevant to his complaint about putting views. 
  
  I was not arguing that golfing experience is irrelevant to playing the game and getting the most out of the game. 
  
  Cheers! 

• K7JBQ 1,468 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 4:39 PM

  Getting back to Kiawah, which is by far the worst of the WGT courses when it comes to angles and reading greens. Kiawah was the first course WGT did, thus it was WGT 1.0, and it shows mostly on the greens.

  What I find works best at Kiawah is to use reverse view and looking at the green as if you were chipping, read the putt that way then switch back to the putter. It makes the read much easier, and, in my experience, more accurate.

  Of course, there are some straight putts on Kiawah that look like breakers, and vice versa, but that happens IRL as well.

• xlviii 502 Posts

  Thu, Jul 5 2018 5:10 PM

  K7JBQ:

  Getting back to Kiawah, which is by far the worst of the WGT courses when it comes to angles and reading greens. Kiawah was the first course WGT did, thus it was WGT 1.0, and it shows mostly on the greens.

  What I find works best at Kiawah is to use reverse view and looking at the green as if you were chipping, read the putt that way then switch back to the putter. It makes the read much easier, and, in my experience, more accurate.

  Of course, there are some straight putts on Kiawah that look like breakers, and vice versa, but that happens IRL as well.

  I had a feeling that Kiawah may have been the first course because of those issues.

  Using chip view is another great tip for Kiawah or any putt where the grid lines don't line up with the line of the putt. Since the dots are only showing the speed of break based on the center of the grid, your putt might break more, less, or even the opposite way depending on how the grid lines match up.